Texas
Forget Florida: Your favorite cruise lines are betting on Texas
- Cruise lines are increasingly sailing out of Texas’ only cruise port, the Port of Galveston.
- Galveston saw a record 384 cruises and 1.7 million guests in 2024 — half a million more than in 2023.
- The port is located near Royal Caribbean’s next two private resorts in Mexico.
Texas — known for chili, cowboys, and increasingly, cruises.
America’s cruising culture is irrevocably intertwined with Florida. No other state has seven cruise ports, including the three busiest in the world, and an established grip on the nearby leviathan Caribbean cruise market.
What the Sunshine State doesn’t have, however, is Galveston.
The historic and unassuming Texas island is home to the state’s only cruise port. Yet, it’s quickly become a crucial battleground as vacation-at-sea companies compete for travelers’ hearts and wallets.
The Galveston boom
Photo courtesy the Galveston Wharves
In 2022, Royal Caribbean opened a $125 million cruise terminal in the Galveston. A year later, the port invested $53 million in expanding Carnival’s terminal, which now serves as the homeport for Carnival Jubilee, one of the cruise line’s largest ships built specifically for the Texas market.
In 2024, the port saw a record 384 cruises and 1.7 million guests — half a million more travelers than the year prior.
Not much compared to the world’s busiest Port of Miami, which saw 8.23 million passengers in 2024. However, while Florida’s ports are near max capacity, Galveston’s market is still quickly growing.
The Texas port plans to open a fourth $156 million terminal in November, which MSC and Norwegian will share. The launch would also mark the start of MSC’s Galveston itineraries.
Photo courtesy the Galveston Wharves
“Florida doesn’t have many more terminals,” Rodger Rees, the port’s director and CEO, told Business Insider. “The market has been somewhat saturated.”
Galveston does, however, have more space to expand — and with it, aspirations to someday surpass Florida’s Port of Everglades as America’s third most popular cruise port.
“These ships are going out of here full every Saturday and Sunday,” Rees said — a significant accomplishment, given that Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, and MSC would all have some of their largest or newest ships sailing out of the Lone Star State this year.
For the port of Galveston, the local cruise boom has meant survival. The company almost declared bankruptcy 15 years ago, unable to generate profit from its aging cargo infrastructure, Rees said.
Now, the future is bright — in 2025, it expects to rake in $84 million, a 6.4% growth from the year prior, thanks to the growing vacation-at-sea business.
Bigger, better, and more convenient in Texas
Royal Caribbean International
Travelers in cities like Dallas, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City are a day’s drive from Galveston. Houston and its two airports are only about an hour away — strategic, given that it’s a shorter flight there than to Miami from metropolitans like Las Vegas, Chicago, and Phoenix.
Compared to Florida, “Texas is a similar-sized market that has half the penetration with a very similar propensity to cruise,” Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, told analysts in late October 2024.
As important, Galveston is also close to popular ports of call in east Mexico, eastern Caribbean, and Central America, including Norwegian’s private island in Belize.
The location is similarly crucial for Royal Caribbean, which has two private resorts — Perfect Day Mexico and Royal Beach Club Cozumel — scheduled to open in Mexico in 2026 and 2027.
Royal Caribbean International
“Having assets like the Royal Beach Club will allow us to drive more of the Gulf Coast markets that can have an easier fly-cruise experience and lower cost,” Liberty added.
Royal Caribbean’s resorts — in conjunction with its Symphony of the Seas, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, sailing out of Galveston in 2026 — could continue to catapult its popularity.
“We’re getting bigger and nicer ships here,” the port’s CEO said. “Why go all the way to Florida?”
Alabama basketball had every chance to beat Texas on Saturday. Time and time again, UA pulled it close, only to blow the opportunity to win.
Instead, the Crimson Tide fell 92-88, dropping to 1-2 to begin SEC play, and taking its second straight defeat. Afterward, Nate Oats went off on his team.
“We got guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take ‘till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”
On the defensive end, Alabama couldn’t get enough stops when it needed to. Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with 28 points, tying his career high.
Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark had 18 each for the Longhorns. UT averaged 1.314 points per possession.
Alabama’s defensive efficiency dropped to 79th in the nation following the loss according to KenPom.
“All of it starts with effort,” Oats said of the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.
“From there it goes to guys in the moment having some personal pride on stopping their man. Too many blow-bys.Too many isolation plays were just beat one-on-one. Guys not locked in on the help side.”
Another issue for Alabama late in the game was poor free-throw shooting. UA hit 11-of-12 attempts in the first half, but went just 8-for-15 from the line in the second, which became crucial as the referees made their presence known late.
Oats was asked what went wrong from the charity stripe.
“When you’re worried about the wrong stuff,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. When you’re locked into defense, all you care about is winning the game. And when you’re locked in on the defensive end, then you go to the line and you’re locked in and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’re gonna step up and you’re gonna make your free throws.
“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line and you miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter. Guys that should be making free throws at a high level.”
Alabama travels to Mississippi State on Tuesday to try and get back on track, before a Saturday trip to Oklahoma. Oats did offer some hope that his team would improve, drawn from the team that just beaten the Crimson Tide.
Texas coach Sean Miller had called out his team after its previous loss to Tennessee.
“It bothered Texas,” Oats said. “Texas lost two in a row and started 0-2 (in the SEC). That team looked a lot different than the team that played at Tennessee. So it obviously bothered them enough to change. So hopefully at some point it bothers our guys enough that they’ll invest on the defensive end of the floor.”
Tristan Jernigan, a Texas A&M sophomore linebacker who was a four-star prospect in high school, has signed with Cal out of the transfer portal.
Jernigan comes to Berkeley with three years of eligibility after seeing action in just two games this season. He played against Notre Dame without any stats and had three tackles, including one tackle for loss, against Samford.
He is the second members of the Aggies’ squad to join the Bears, following defensive end Solomon Williams, who signed last Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder from Tupelo, Miss., also drew interest from Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor and San Diego State.
Jernigan played eight games as a true freshman in 2024, primarily on special teams. He had 11 tackles, including five against McNeese State, and was named the team’s defensive scout team player of the year.
At Tupelo High School, Jernigan had 177 tackles with 11.5 sacks his final two seasons. Those teams compiled a two-year record of 22-4 with a Class 6A state semifinal appearance as a junior in 2022.
He was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 28 linebacker prospect in the class and the No. 9 recruit in the state of Mississippi.
He is not related to former Cal linebacker Myles Jernigan, who was from Grand Prairie, Texas, and spent five years in Berkeley through the 2023 season.
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DALLAS – Starting in February, some American Airlines passengers will have the option of eating authentic Texas barbecue as their in-flight meal.
The airline said they’ll be partnering with Pecan Lodge restaurant to serve Texas barbecue on board.
American Airlines to serve Texas BBQ
The meals will be available to first-class passengers on flights from DFW International Airport to LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The meals will be available for preorder starting on Jan. 11 through aa.com or American’s mobile app.
What they’re saying:
“As we celebrate American’s centennial anniversary in 2026, we’re looking forward to delighting our customers in new ways that honor unique regional tastes, beginning right here in our home state through one of the most beloved barbecue restaurants in Texas,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s SVP of Customer Experience Design and Strategy. “Our customers deserve nothing but the best, and Pecan Lodge is certainly that.”
Pecan Lodge meals
February offering: Pecan Lodge barbecue platter
Smoked brisket and smoked sausage, paired with creamy mac and cheese, crisp coleslaw and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
March offering: Smoked chopped brisket sandwich
Chopped brisket on a fresh brioche bun, served with roasted green beans, creamy potato salad and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
The Source: Information in this article comes from American Airlines.
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